Local residents said Shells and gunfire heard around Awdinle, a small town just 15Km east of Baidoa following the ambush attack on Eithopian forces on Monday, causing indefinite casualties on both sides.

"I saw an Æthiopian military vehicle burning and dead bodies lying nearby a roadside kaboom site at Awdinle area, after the fighting stopped," said one resident.

In the aftermath of the attack, Mahad Abdirahman Aden, said Æthiopian troops fired rounds of mortars indiscriminately on a residential area, killing dozens of innocent civilians in Awdinle.

[Shabelle] The Kenyan army serving under The African Union...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) engaged fierce festivities on Monday with Al shabab fighters in south west Somalia, reports said.

There were differing accounts of which side bore the brunt of the fighting in the small town of Gursar in Gedo region, the worst involving Kenyan troops since they invaded into Somalia October last year, to pursue Al shabab, which Nairobi blames string of attacks and kidnappings against foreign aid workers in its soil.

The situation is reported to be calm on Monday afternoon after the skirmish subsided and the area is under Somali and Kenyan forces.

[Bangla Daily Star] The Detective Branch of police (DB) yesterday placed in durance vileYouse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! assistant secretary general of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami... a Pakistani catspaw remaining active in Bangla politix, loosely affiliated with the Pak religious party of the same name and closely affiliated with most of the terror organizations in Bangla. A member of the BNP's four party governing coalition.... and former politician of Khulna-5 constituency Mia Golam Parwar in the capital's Gulshan.

Masudur Rahman, deputy commissioner (public relation) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said the arrest was made around 6:15pm.

The DB sources said Parwar had been kept under watch since afternoon and was taken to the DB office on Minto Road around 8:30pm after his arrest.

Parwar was shown arrested in a case filed in connection with a clash between Jamaat-Shibir men and police and vandalism done by the activists on November 5 in Motijheel, the DB sources added.

Masudur said that Parwar will be produced before court today demanding remand.

Shafiqur Rahman, Jamaat-e-Islami...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... acting secretary general, in a statement protested the arrest.

[Bangla Daily Star] Activists of Jamaat-e-Islami...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... and Islami Chhatra Shibir... the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh... fought pitched battles with cops, torched vehicles and damaged public property during a daylong hartal... a peculiarly Bangla combination of a general strike and a riot, used by both major political groups in lieu of actual governance ... in Joypurhat yesterday.

Some Shibir men tried to gouge out a constable's eyes with sharp weapons and poured kerosene on him to set him on fire at Hichmi Bazar on the Joypurhat-Khetlal road around 5:30pm.

The injured policeman, Golam Mostafa, was admitted to Shaheed Ziaur Medical College and Hospital in Bogra, reports our Dinajpur correspondent.

Meanwhile,...back at the laboratory the fumes had dispersed, to reveal an ominous sight... police rounded up 75 Jamaat-Shibir activists from across the country yesterday on charges of creating anarchy and attacking law enforcers. They also held five BNP and 13 Sramik Dal workers.

Jamaat and its student body Shibir enforced the strike in Joypurhat, protesting the death of a Shibir activist on November 10. The dear departed, Badiuzzaman, 22, was bullet-hit during a clash with police in the capital on November 5. He hailed from Joypurhat.

Witnesses said constable Mostafa of Khetlal Police Station was riding a cycle of violence on his way to Khetlal from a Joypurhat court.

He came under attack when he pulled over after a tyre of his bike had punctured at Hichmi Bazar.

Locals rescued him from the spot and rushed him to Joypurhat Adhunik Hospital, from where he was later shifted to Bogra for better treatment.

Law enforcers said pickets torched an auto-rickshaw in front of Joypurhat Govt Girls School around 10:30am and damaged a truck before Joypurhat Palli Bidyut office in Shahartoli area around 2:00pm.

At Panchbibi, police fired five rubber bullets during a clash with Shibir men.

Police set to sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, in a pestilential prison with a life-long lockDrop the rod and step away witcher hands up! nine Shibir activists from different places in Joypurhat.

Yesterday was the fourth day in the last seven days when Jamaat-Shibir men clashed with law enforcers across the country over the release of their top leaders, including the nine facing trial for crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.

In the capital, police set to sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, in a pestilential prison with a life-long lockDrop the rod and step away witcher hands up! 23 Shibir members. Of them, 14 are residents of Jatiya Sangsad Colony in Agargaon.

Officials of the Detective Branch of police said they recovered five Molotov cocktails, anti-government leaflets and jihadi books during raids in Agargaon and Tejgaon.

Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police said the 14 detainees were tenants of the houses allocated to Parliament Secretariat's administration officer Amirul Islam, assistant secretary Abul Kalam Azad and another government employee named Anwar Hossain.

Talking to The Daily Star, DB Deputy Commissioner Monirul Islam said the detainees had admitted their involvement in Saturday's violence in the capital.

He said police would investigate why the officials rented their quarters to the Shibir men. "If it is found that they [officials] share a similar ideology with the detainees, they would be brought to book."

In Laxmipur, law enforcers picked up 10 Shibir activists from different parts of Sadar upazila. Police sued 200 Jamaat-Shibir men for creating violence.

The Rapid Action Battalion in Feni set to sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, in a pestilential prison with a life-long lockDrop the rod and step away witcher hands up! four Jamaat activists while they were distributing leaflets.

Police held two Jamaat men in Sunamganj and 11 in Chapainawabganj and seven Shibir men in Jhenidah.

Kurigram police captured five BNP and two Shibir activists.

Our Patuakhali correspondent adds: Law enforcers rounded up 13 Sramik Dal and two Shibir workers from a procession in the town.

Students of Patuakhali Science and Technology University handed over two other Shibir men to police.

A group of Jubo League... the youth wing of the Bangla Awami League... activists torched upazila Jamaat office in Taras of Sirajganj.

In the capital, Bangladesh Awami Swechchhasebak League held a protest rally on Bangabandhu Avenue. Addressing the rally, Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif said the ruling party men along with the common people will resist Jamaat-Shibir's subversive activities.

[An Nahar] Russian police incarceratedKeep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! six members of a banned Islamist organization for spreading "extremist" literature and recruiting followers in the capital Moscow, officials said Monday.

Six leaders and active members of Hizb ut-Tahrir (Party of Liberation) were "leading active recruitment work in Moscow mosques, and spreading bad turban literature," Moscow police's anti-extremism department said.

The organization is banned in Russia following a Supreme Court decision to recognize it as a terrorist group.

The detainees are from Central Asian countries Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, police front man Vladimir Konovalov added, though it was unclear whether they have been naturalized in Russia.

"Most likely there will be a criminal case launched into extremism," he told AFP.

Hizb ut-Tahrir has its headquarters in Britannia and aims to establish an Islamic state, according to its website. It has been banned in many countries and pursued with particular vigor in the Mohammedan but highly secular ex-Soviet Central Asian states.

[Dawn] At least six people bit the dust and four were maimed in violent incidents in the city on Monday, DawnNews reported.

Two people, identified as Shakoor and Hanif, were rubbed out in the area of 'Memon Goth.'

A doctor was killed when person or persons unknown opened fire on his clinic at Lee market's Gadani stop.

Another incident of firing in Baldia town's Yousuf Goth claimed the life of a man Zain-ul-Abideen. A woman, named Yasmin, got injured in the same incident.

Bakht Zaman became victim of bullets in the area of Manghopir. He departed this vale of tears and passed away.

The body of a man, who was kidnapped earlier, was found from Orangi town's Iqbal market.

Meanwhile,...back at the dirigible, Jack stuck the cigar in his mouth, stepped onto the gantry, and asked Got a light, Mac?
Von Schtinken stopped short, lowering the dagger and trying to control his features.If you light that thing, Herr Armschtröng, he pointed out, his voice tense, we all die!... Police placed in long-term storageYouse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! eight suspects from the areas of 'Baloch para' and 'Patel para'.

DIG Shahid Hayat said that Bloody Karachi...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... East zone police have arrested at least 10 suspected myrmidons.

Disturbance at 'Shahrah-e-Pakistain'

At least four people received bullet injuries when unidentified people shot up Shahrah-e-Pakistain near Water pump area.

Tension prevailed and businesses in the area were closed.

Angry protestors came out on the road and set three buses on fire.

The firing incident took place when funeral procession of four men belonging to Shia community, who were killed earlier today, was on the way to 'Waadi-e-Hussain' graveyard.

[Dawn] Gunmen Monday rubbed out three Shia Mohammedans and maimed two others in Pakistain's troubled southwestern province of Balochistan...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it..., officials said.

The shooting took place in the town of Mach, some 70 kilometers (40 miles) southeast of the lovely provincial capital Quetta.

"Three men from the Shia Hazara community were killed and two others were maimed when gunnies on a cycle of violence sprayed bullets at two vegetable shops," local police official Sher Ahmed told AFP.

Two others sitting in the shop were maimed in the firing, he added.

Atif Nabi, a local government official confirmed the attack and toll.

Balochistan is rife with Islamist militancy, sectarian violence between majority Sunnis and minority Shia Mohammedans and a regional insurgency waged by separatists.

[Dawn] A man was killed and two others received injuries when a bomb went kaboom! outside the house of a tribal elder in Dattakhel tehsil of North Wazoo Agency on Sunday.

The residents of the area said that the bomb was planted by unidentified persons outside the house of Hamad Jan in Laand Sayedabad area of Dattakhel.

They said that the bomb went kaboom! with a big bang and killed Amjad Khan, the son of Hamad Jan. Two other persons were maimed in the blast, they added.

The house of the tribal elder was partially damaged in the blast.

Meanwhile,...back at the cheese factory, all the pieces finally fell together in Fluffy's mind... security forces defused two bombs planted along the main road near Miranshah... headquarters of al-Qaeda in Pakistain and likely location of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Haqqani network has established a ministate in centered on the town with courts, tax offices and lots of madrassas... in North Waziristan Agency on Sunday.

Officials said that the two bombs were planted near Amin checkpost that were defused safely.

[Dawn] As Bloody Karachi...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... continued to bleed, the provincial government and parties claiming to be true representatives of the over 18 million citizens of the country's commercial capital paid mere lip service on Sunday to the ongoing spate of violence, primarily on sectarian grounds, that claimed the lives of 31 persons in just two days.

Instead of taking any practical measure and neglecting the fact that 11 more persons were bumped off since morning, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah visited some relatively peaceful localities of the city and suspended the Traffic SP (Central) because of the absence of traffic police personnel on certain main roads.

The CM holds the additional portfolio of the home department as there is no home minister in the province.

Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad also did not appear disturbed over the 'tit-for-tat killings' when he told newsmen that the successful show of IDEAS-2012 'proved that Bloody Karachi is secure for foreign investors'.

The role of police and Rangers in curbing violence has also become questionable because the law-enforcers have so far failed to prove their utility in the sprawling metropolis, though they have been told to take effective steps to protect the life and property of the masses.

While the Pakistain Mohammedan League-Nawaz (PML-N), Jamaat-e-Islami...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... (JI), the Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), Majlis Wahdat-e-Mohammedaneen (MWM) and other parties, which are not part of the Pakistain People's Party-led ruling coalition, slammed the government for failing to protect the life and property of citizens, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead... (MQM) also refused to share the responsibility of the city's law and order with the PPP despite having its own governor and an army of ministers in the federal and provincial governments.

The MQM coordination committee said in a statement on Sunday that the "relentless killing of the Sunni and Shia people in the city gave to understand that the city is left at the mercy of faceless myrmidons and there is no one to safeguard the life and property of the people".

Condemning the killing of Shia and Sunni people, the MQM viewed the violence as the outcome of a conspiracy and appealed to the Sindh governor and CM to take definite steps to end the killing of innocent people in the city.

However,there's more than one way to skin a cat... an alleged telephone contact between the Sindh governor and Maulana Ahmed Ludhiyanvi of the ASWJ infuriated the MWM to an extent that it called upon President Asif Ali Ten Percent Zardari... husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who has been singularly lacking in curiosity about who done her in ... and MQM chief Altaf Hussain 'to dismiss Ishratul Ibad as Sindh governor for his connections with notorious outlawed terrorist organization'.

MWM leaders condemned the 'hypocrisy of the ruling coalition and the MQM' and urged them to clarify their position on terrorism. They alleged that the governor was responsible 'for genocide of Shias in Bloody Karachi'.

Maulana Aurangzeb Farooqi of the ASWJ told newsmen that violence in Bloody Karachi was part of an international conspiracy and the government had completely failed to stem violence and in arresting killers of more than 100 workers of his party.

He said he would not guarantee peace in the city if an ASWJ rally to be taken out on the first of Muharram to remember the martyrdom day of Hazrat Omar Farooq was stopped.

JI chief Syed Munawar Hasan also criticised the government for protecting killers, extortionists and drug mafia and said the administration and the agencies were unable to apprehend the killers because they enjoyed the protection of the people in power."If the rulers themselves give protection to lawbreakers, how peace can be restored," he said in a statement issued from Lahore.

PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... said in a statement that the parties who had got mandate from Bloody Karachi and were part of the federal and provincial governments had absolutely failed to maintain peace in the metropolis.

He called upon the government to use all resources to wipe out those involved in the killing of innocent people in Bloody Karachi.

Meanwhile,...back at the scene of the crime, Lieutenant Queeg had an idea: there was a simple way to tell whether Manetti had been the triggerman -- just look at his shoes!... the Sindh CM came out of his palatial official residence in the city's so-called red zone and visited Lasbella, Nazimabad, Hyderi, Sakhi Hassan, North Nazimabad, Nagin Chaurangi, Buffer Zone, North Bloody Karachi, Garden, M.A. Jinnah Road, Kati Pahari, Mithadar, Kharadar and Preedy Street areas.

According to a handout, the CM took serious note of a lack of patrolling by police and Rangers and directed the Bloody Karachi police chief to ensure a better patrolling and snap checking system because "it was the prime duty of the government to provide safety of life and property to the citizens". He also took serious notice of the dilapidated condition of roads in many areas of the city and ordered the administrator of the Bloody Karachi Metr opolitan Corporation to get these roads repaired at the earliest.

Israel launched three air strikes on the Gaza Strip early on Tuesday and resistance fighters fired a rocket into southern Israel, hours after Gaza groups said they were ready for a ceasefire. The air raids hit an uninhabited area to the west of Gaza City, without causing any casualties, Palestinian security sources and witnesses said.

In a statement, the Israeli army said the strikes targeted a weapons facility and two rocket launch sites.

The raids came after renewed rocket fire on Monday, with resistance fighters firing at least 15 missiles into Israel, the army said, adding another four were intercepted by the Iron Dome system.

On Tuesday morning, an additional rocket was fired, an army spokeswoman said, with Israeli media reporting it was a Grad missile that landed near the town of Ashdod, south of Tel Aviv.

Despite the continued fire, the latest rocket fire represented a significant drop from the peak of a flare-up between Saturday and Sunday night. Dozens of rockets were fired into southern Israel during that period, injuring four, with Israel carrying out air strikes, shelling and artillery fire that left six Palestinians dead by Sunday morning, four civilians and two fighters.

[JPost] Palestinian terrorist factions in the Gaza Strip agreed to an informal, and apparently unilateral cease-fire with Israel on Monday night, but said it depends on "Israeli aggression," Palestinian news agencies reported. The report comes at the end of a day that saw over 20 rockets fired into Israel, injuring four people.

Hamas called the meeting of the various factions in order to avoid further Palestinian casualties, Bethlehem-based Ma'an news agency reported, citing a DFLP leader. Six Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes since the weekend, two of whom were terrorists.

A Hamas statement from the meeting said that its activities "depend on the continuation of the Israeli aggression."

Soon after the meeting, however, Gazans fired two additional rockets at Sderot. The rockets exploded in an empty field, causing no damages or injuries.

Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired some 20 rockets and mortars into southern Israel since midnight Sunday, injuring four people, with 43 others suffering from shock.

[CS Monitor] Israeli tanks on the Golan Heights fired on and hit a Syria artillery battery on Monday in response to cross-border mortar fire, marking the first time after 18 months of watching the Syrian conflict from the sidelines that the Jewish state has allowed itself to participate.

The Israeli fire, the first hit inside Syrian territory since the 1973 Israel-Arab war, follow weeks in which the Israeli army held its fire as the civil war increasingly spilled across the border with mortar and bullet fire. Syrian tanks also have been entering a United Nations...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... patrolled buffer zone.

But because the Golan spillover is still viewed as the result of errant fire rather than intentional, the conflict hasn't yet reached a tipping point that will force Jerusalem to become embroiled like Turkey and Jordan, say analysts.

Instead, Israel is likely to stick with its policy of just rooting for the downfall of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-AssadLord of the Baath... -- seen here as the link between Iran and the Lebanese myrmidon group Hezbollah -- while refraining from throwing its lot in with any of the opposition groups, many of whom are seen as Islamist bully boyz that could destabilize their border.

[An Nahar] Israeli troops fired tank shells into Syria on Monday in retaliation for a mortar round that struck near an army post in the Golan Heights, scoring "direct hits" on the source of the fire, the army said.

"A short while ago, a mortar shell hit an open area in the vicinity of an IDF (army) post in the central Golan Heights, as part of the internal conflict inside Syria, causing no damage or injuries," it said.

The army warned that any further fire from Syria towards the Israeli-occupied sector of the strategic plateau, would be answered with "severity."

"Fire emanating from Syria into Israel will not be tolerated and shall be responded to with severity," a statement said, indicating that Israel had filed a complaint with UN observers monitoring the ceasefire line.

[An Nahar] The six Gulf states recognized a newly formed opposition bloc as the Syrian people's legitimate representative on Monday, as border violence stoked fears of a spillover of the country's 20-month conflict.

The Gulf Cooperation Council move came a year to the day after the Arab League...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... suspended Syria's membership, and as the National Coalition met Arab foreign ministers in Cairo buoyed by the hard-won unity deal.

Deadly fighting flared, meanwhile, on Syria's border with Turkey and Israel fired across the ceasefire line on the Golan Heights for a second day, scoring direct hits on the source of a mortar round that struck the Israeli-occupied half of the disputed territory.

The GCC members -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Soddy Arabia...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in their national face..., and the United Arab Emirates -- became the first to recognize the opposition coalition.

"The states of the council announce recognizing the National Coalition... as the legitimate representative of the brotherly Syrian people," GCC chief Abdullatif al-Zayani said.

The oil-rich bloc would support the coalition "in order to achieve the aspirations of the Syrian people in hope that this will be a step towards a quick political transfer of power," Zayani said.

He hoped its formation would lead to ending the bloodshed and "a general national congress to pave the way to build a state ruled by law and open to all its citizens."

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani, whose government hosted the marathon four-day talks that culminated in Sunday's unity deal, said earlier that he would seek "full recognition" of the coalition.

His minister of state for foreign affairs, Khaled al-Attiya, said recognition would remove any obstacles to the opposition securing arms for rebel fighters.

The National Coalition's newly installed leader, Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib, told al-Jazeera television it already had promises of weapons, but did not say from whom.

Under Sunday's deal, the opposition agreed to establish a new supreme military council to take overall command of rebel groups on the ground and address U.S. concerns that weapons have been reaching jihadist groups that are threatening to hijack the uprising.

Washington swiftly declared its backing for the new structure.

"We look forward to supporting the National Coalition as it charts a course toward the end of Assad's bloody rule and the start of the peaceful, just, democratic future that all the people of Syria deserve," State Department front man Mark Toner said.

Traditional Damascus...The place where Pencilneck hangs his brass hat... ally Moscow gave a cooler response, saying "such alliances must act based on a platform of peaceful regulation of the conflict by Syrians themselves, without interference."

-- Israel scores 'direct hits' --

Fanning international concerns about the potential a conflict spillover, the Israeli army targeted the source of new mortar fire into the part of the Golan it occupies and reported "direct hits" on Monday.

On Sunday, an Israeli warning shot -- its first across the U.N.-monitored ceasefire line since the 1973 Middle East war -- left U.N. chief the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... "deeply concerned by the potential for escalation," his front man said.

Air strikes and shelling of rebel positions in the town of Ras al-Ain on the Turkish border killed at least 12 people, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

One bomb went kaboom! less than 150 meters (yards) from the border, with the blast blowing out windows in houses in Ceylanpinar, where there were also injuries, the Turkish town's mayor told Anatolia news agency.

The same blast killed four Syrians and maimed scores of others, around 20 seriously, Anatolia said, later adding that six of the maimed died.

The Observatory said seven rebels and five non-combatants were killed.

Near the town, helicopters strafed rebels who for the past three days have besieged an army post, said the Observatory.

At the far eastern end of Syria's border with Turkey, Kurdish militia took Malikiya village after troops loyal to Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-AssadSupressor of the Damascenes... withdrew.

On the Jordanian frontier, shelling and festivities left two Syrian border guards dead.

Warplanes also bombed rebel positions on the strategic highway between Damascus and second city Aleppo...For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppans regard Damascenes as country cousins..., while festivities on the southern outskirts of the capital near a Paleostinian refugee camp killed seven civilians.

At least 52 people were killed nationwide on Monday, said the Observatory, which has given an overall corpse count of more than 37,000 since March 2011.

A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.